With the sixth Harry Potter film (and the last to take place at Hogwarts) upon us, we thought it was a great time to look back at the five that came before it and rank them in order, best to worst, because really -- if you're a Potter fan, you know you want to talk about it. Again. We all do. Here's my list.
5) Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire
Easily the weakest film of the series, this suffered both from the epic length of the source material and a number of logic holes in it so large you could hold a Quidditch match in them. The film focuses mostly upon the competition, but never manages to build any tension with the other combatants, making it but a series of hoops for Harry to jump through. Sadly, these hoops ultimately turn out only to give the victor of these incredibly dangerous games a five-minute head start in a maze in which finding the prize is really just luck of the draw, making the entire Triwizard Tournament something of a complete farce and an exercise in futility. And all that is ignoring the fact that a mysterious force is helping Harry win in order to get him to touch the trophy, upon which a curse has been cast to send the victor to an alternate dimension to get their butt handed to them by Voldemort. Because such wicked, terrible powers couldn't have just cast the same spell on Harry's shoes while he slept and avoided all the trouble to begin with. Yeah.
4) Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone
A good solid film and one in which you can see Chris Columbus fumbling to cast the first strokes upon the canvas we would come to know as the visual Potterverse. This film's biggest flaws are the ending (deus ex machina involving Harry's touch alone chasing off the villain) and the fact that Harry spends the entire film mugging at all the special effects to illustrate to the audience how magical it all is. Thankfully, the latter is abandoned midway through Chamber of Secrets.
3) Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
A darker and more frightening film than the first, Chamber of Secrets shows Daniel Radcliffe accustomed to all the special effects and we can enjoy the film for what it is -- a wonderful adventure set in an alternate world. While the ending still rings a bit of deus ex machina, what with the last-minute delivery of the sword and all, Harry is far more proactive and becomes a much more interesting on-screen hero. This film's biggest flaw is shared with its predecessor in that both films feel like they should have ended before the final banquet scenes.
2) Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
A near-perfect Potter film, this one has ramped-up action, dark tones, and all of the character development carries real weight. There is little to complain about here except that, for those of us who hadn't read the book in advance, the death of Sirius Black seemed all too sudden and impermanent. It just ... happened -- but without the punch it should have delivered. It isn't until you walk out of the theater that you realize he's not coming back.
1) Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Without a doubt the very best of the five films. Directed by master filmmaker Alfonso Cuaron, this is the film that feels more like its own organic thing. The way he dissolves between scenes, de-saturates moments, and redefines the visual geography of Hogwarts made for the very first (and so far only) perfect Potter film. It was a film so genius many of us begged that he direct the rest of the series. Instead he was turned off from making films in the American studio system ever again. Our consolation prize? He made Children of Men instead. Aright, Alfonso. We'll accept that as a worthy parting gift.
Film.com's FREE movie of the week is "Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror." This 1922 classic of cinema based on Bram Stoker's "Dracula" (but with names changed) directed by F.W. Murnau and starring Max Schrek in one of films most famous and frightening make-up jobs.
